The Philippine gambling sector is expected to generate $6.03 billion (more than 350 billion pesos) in revenue this year, as Manila’s gaming scene continues to attract high rollers from China, Japan, South Korea, and other nations.
This statistic would set a new record for the Asian nation.
On Tuesday, Alejandro Tengco, Chairman of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), the country’s gaming regulator, stated that the electronic gaming sector is driving growth.
The prediction exceeds the body’s prior objective of 334 billion pesos for 2024, as well as a 23% rise over 2023’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) of 285 billion pesos.
“Our GGR for the year, I think it’s over 350 billion pesos,” Tengco added, according to Reuters. GGR is the total amount wagered by participants minus their wins.
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Manila’s gambling industry, which includes a smaller version of Las Vegas’s entertainment strip and integrated casino resorts controlled by corporations such as Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp and Melco Resorts & Entertainment, continues to draw high rollers from China, Japan, South Korea, and other nations.
Tengco also confirmed that Pagcor is on pace to terminate all offshore gambling enterprises‘ licenses by the end of the year. “From 48, as of November 30 we’re down to about 13 and by December 15 it will be zero,” he told me.
The move is intended to comply with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s July edict outlawing Philippine offshore gambling operators, also known as POGOs. Tengco added that any POGOs that continue to operate after January 1 will be considered illegal.
The ban was sparked by reports of POGO-related crimes such as human trafficking, torture, kidnapping, and credit card and cryptocurrency investment fraud.
The online gambling sector first appeared in the Philippines in 2016, quickly spreading as operators took advantage of the country’s lax gambling regulations to attract Chinese clients, where gambling is outlawed.
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